Going digital is the new way of doing businesses and the Indian mattress industry is already driving its effective digital transformation initiatives by leveraging data analytics. Data Analytics hold a lot of importance in any digital initiative of mattress companies as it will allow organizations to optimize their business operations, address changing market dynamics and enhance customer experiences. Data analytics utilizes advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and big data processing, that can swiftly refine vast amounts of data and present an appropriate actionable insight.  

With the growing competition in the Indian mattress market, it is quintessential for mattress makers to leverage data analytics that will enable them to take data driven decisions and not get driven by intuition. This will help companies improve their operational efficiency, personalize customer experience, drive innovation through optimised strategies. Meanwhile, by leveraging data analytics, mattress companies can identify risks and mitigate them before they become a problem. 

Categories of data analytics  

Data analytics is just a broad term. There are different categories of data analytics and each one of them can be leveraged to address specific information requirements. The four types of analytics model include:

  • Descriptive analytics : The most common form of analytics which addresses the primary question on what happened in a series of past events. It gives facts and numbers regarding sales, overall productivity, customer acquisition and customer retention. 
  • Predictive analytics : it is form of advanced analytics that predicts the upcoming business outcomes based on historical data using machine learning. Based on the historical data generated through descriptive and diagnostic analytics, predictive analytics models can deliver likely business predictions. This analytics model helps in forecasting maintenance and technical failures, determining credit risk and identification of potential frauds and avoids customer churn by identifying signs of customer dissatisfaction. 
  • Prescriptive analytics : Prescriptive analytics is a type of data analytics that uses various techniques and algorithms to provide recommendations and insights on the best course of action to take based on historical data, current data, and predictive analytics. It goes a step beyond descriptive and predictive analytics by not only predicting future outcomes but also suggesting a specific action to achieve a desired outcome. Prescriptive analytics can help businesses make more informed decisions, optimize processes, and improve overall performance. For instance, through prescriptive analytics manufacturers can automatically adjust the product pricing based on anticipated customer demand and external factors. 

The Indian mattress industry is getting more competitive and with so many competitors, manufacturers need to initiate the right action at the right time  

With the right set of data, mattress brands can make targeted marketing campaigns that will help them generate more sales 

Each type of analytics can offer different kind of information about consumer behaviour, which will help companies drive their business objectives. Each type of analytics provide unique insights to a business. With the insights collected through different analytics, brands can make decisions regarding when to manufacture, why to manufacture, how many to manufacture and the ideal channel to reach the end consumers. 

Data analytics and its benefits for the mattress industry 

The Indian mattress industry is getting more competitive and with so many competitors, manufacturers need to initiate the right action at the right time. Data analytics can play a crucial role in helping the Indian mattress industry to understand market dynamics, optimize operations, improve product offerings, and enhance customer experiences, which will help the brand thrive in a competitive market. “Online marketing makes it possible to personalize how brands engage their audience. Data Analytics allow mattress companies to further segment their target audience, for example, prospective buyers, existing customers, repeat buyers, so that specific communication can be designed to engage each segment in more meaningful ways. It can help to craft detailed consumer profiles, understand buyer preferences and behaviour, create new products or emphasize product features to meet buyer expectations, forecast demand and monitor campaign performance. Highly targeted campaigns can be designed to influence consumer behaviour and acquire new customers, cross-sell to existing consumers as well as boost product awareness. Using data analytics we can track the effectiveness of campaigns and help brands achieve the desired results efficiently” explains Priyanka Nayar, Brand Strategist and Founding Partner at Moth-Idea Pollinators. 

With the right set of data, mattress brands can make targeted marketing campaigns that will help them generate more sales. A huge amount of data and the right mix of data analytics tools like CRM systems, predictive analytics, sentiment analysis, inventory optimization, behaviour analytics, funnel analysis etc., firms can get a deep understanding about consumer behaviour. “Data gives a lot of insight about customers and potential customers. Hence we need a lot of data. Data mining can help in both customer retention, acquisition and learning consumer preferences. Once we understand the consumer preferences and their buying behaviour, we can devise a strong marketing strategy,” says Vijay Palanna, Managing Director at Empulse Research and Data Analytics. 

Leveraging the right set of data analytics tools, mattress firms can make better decisions regarding consumer preferences, offer more personalized choices, better inventory management, market research and make realistic predictions about market sentiments. As suggested by Tanay Kundu, Senior Consultant at Skil Global Business Solutions Private Limited. Leveraging Data Analytics can benefit the mattress industry in numerous ways :

  • Personalized customer experience : Companies can use data to analyze customer preferences (e.g., firmness, sleep habits). Based on the available data, they can offer tailored recommendations to improve conversions and reduce return rates.
  • Optimizing pricing strategies : With the help of Data analytics and various tools, firms can implement dynamic pricing based on demand, competition, trends and adjust prices during peak seasons to maximize revenue. 
  • Inventory and supply chain management : With data analytics, firms can predict demand and optimize inventory levels, reducing waste and costs. Meanwhile, they can also track supplier performance and minimize stockouts.
  • Customer sentiment analysis : Analyzing reviews and feedback to identify product issues and improve offerings. Companies can also track customer sentiment to stay responsive to changing preferences.
  • Predicting return rates : Mattress firms can use data to identify patterns and reasons behind returns. Based on that, they can proactively adjust product design or customer education.
  • Targeted marketing and retention : Segment customers for personalized marketing campaigns and predict replacement needs, offer loyalty programs or discounts. 
  • Product development and innovation : Customer feedback can be analyzed to drive product improvements. Based on the insights, firms can innovate with smart and sustainable mattresses. 

Customer churn is easier to avoid if mattress suppliers use data analytics to predict their monthly, quarterly and, annual production and sales.

Having a large pool of data can be beneficial for companies but the challenge is ‘how do companies get access to the data’? For product categories like mattresses, it would be ideal for mattress firms to get access to consumer data on their consumption pattern on household items. Based on the existing sales and consumer demographics, mattress firms can target the potential customers. “The challenge is how do you plug into these data source. Online marketplaces will have this kind of data but can you make them give it to you is the question. One can pay for the data to get access to it and then you analyze that data. It is the buying data which is important, that shows the propensity to buy” explains Prashanth Hebbar, Director at Knobly Consulting. 

The Road ahead for Indian mattress industry with Data Analytics 

As the mattress industry is getting more competitive, mattress brands must ensure that their products are available at their exclusive retail outlets and in multi-brand outlets. They should be available on the shelves so that the customer gets limited scope to try the other brands available alongside. Situations like these are easier to avoid if mattress suppliers use data analytics to predict their monthly, quarterly and, annual production and sales. Data Analytics can help mattress manufacturers can get a fair idea about their adequate requirements, which will, in turn, help them gear up their entire supply chain operations. Meanwhile, various data analytics models will also provide manufacturers with a good estimate of consumer demand for any particular product at a given point in time. This will help them decide on the right production model, for instance, mass production, batch production, job production, just-in-time production or a flexible manufacturing system. If required, manufacturers can also adopt a combination of some of the models to suit their business requirements Going by a Mordor Intelligence report, “The India Mattress Market size is estimated at USD 2.13 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 3.21 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 8.54 percent during the forecast period (2024-2029).” Meanwhile a Fortune Business Insights report says, “Asia Pacific is expected to register the fastest growth during the 2024 to 2032 period, backed by the rapidly rising number of housing units in India and China.” 

To make remarkable contribution to the global mattress industry, the Indian mattress industry must leverage the right set of technologies to explore every available market opportunity and devise strategies to seize the market.